Now the waiting game begins.
Wednesday — the last day for non-seniors to request a draft stock evaluation by the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee — Michigan men’s basketball coach John Beilein confirmed that sophomores Mitch McGary, Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III applied to see where they could go in the NBA Draft.
“We have not gotten anything back yet,” Beilein said, “but we have talked to them all.”
Though asking for an evaluation can assist in a player’s decision to enter the draft, it doesn’t guarantee that the player is declaring for the draft.
For Beilein, this step is just part of the process for players to see if it’s time for them to leave Michigan and go pro. In addition to this committee, Beilein said Michigan would continue to give the players as much information as possible through “other people involved in professional basketball.”
As much as Beilein and company can try to help his players, there are still going to be influences from outside the program that can factor into their decisions. And while there’s only so much Beilein can do, he advises his players to look at the bigger picture.
“You hope during the course of their education that they’re looking at things from a much broader perspective than some guy that’s in his cellar projecting the NBA Draft and still living with his mother,” he said.
Beilein said other players also applied for an evaluation but refused to answer whom. Specifically, he declined comment on whether sophomore guard Caris LeVert would.
“ ‘I’ve always dreamt of going to the NBA,’ ” Beilein said, regarding the mindset of entering the draft. “That is not a reason to go to the NBA. The reason to go to the NBA is, ‘I am ready to go to the NBA.’
“That’s an important thing. We have to continue to cultivate an atmosphere where kids are ready to play in the NBA.”
EUROTRIP: After last traveling to Europe in 2010, the Wolverines will again venture abroad this summer in late August.
The NCAA allows teams to take an offseason overseas tour every four years. Michigan will spend 10 days and “play four to five games” in a yet-to-be announced part of Europe.
In 2010, the Wolverines visited Belgium, Amsterdam and Paris.
Because the trip will take place in August, Beilein believes the experience will be great for both returning players and the incoming freshman class who will join the team earlier in the summer.
If there is one issue for Beilein, though, it’s how three of his incoming players, Austin Hatch, DJ Wilson and Kameron Chatman — all from the West Coast — will deal with potentially being away from home from June until December.
BORED TO DEATH: For Beilein, this time of the year is the toughest.
“When you work as hard as we all work all year long and all of sudden the going-home-at-seven-o’clock-without-anything-to-do is very difficult for me,” he said. “Thank God there’s St. Louis Cardinals baseball and the Major League (Baseball) channel.”
So what is Beilein doing with the summer approaching? For one, he’s fixing lightbulbs in his house.
“I (changed two) this morning,” he said. “They had been out for a while.”
Though it’s likely some more exciting things will come his way, Beilein is ready for the dead period of May which he’ll spend with his family.
“We’ll try to stay at home, cut the lawn and hang around,” he said.
NOTES: Beilein confirmed Wednesday that McGary had a 20-minute workout on Tuesday and that the forward is progressing toward individual workouts, potentially for NBA teams if he ultimately declares.
After seeing Stauskas and LeVert show so much improvement in their strength and physique this season due to their decisions to stay in Ann Arbor last summer with strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson, Beilein said there has been a major push for athletes to stay in town.
“I expect many of our guys to be here, but I don’t have all the numbers,” he said.